The Truth
by wildkat
Summary: Five years after Spirit World, Chihiro finds out something that explains a few things. Her parents reveal the truth and she decides to trace the path of her past. But what she doesn't know is that some things are better left unknown. Action, adventure,
1. Default Chapter

Disclaimer: I do not own the movie "Spirited Away" or any of its characters. I also don't own the Disney Channel movie "The Thirteenth Year.", which this story is loosely based on and inspired by. Okay, I don't know if Chihiro's parents had real names or not, but I gave them names for my story.  
  
^All reviews welcomed, but kindly lay off any obscene, profain, or distasteful comments. Flames will be used to feed my pet dragon.^  
  
Chapter One  
  
Prologue  
  
*Splash!*  
  
A female River Spirit, in her dragon form, is swimming up her river, frantically. Every few seconds the dragon looks down at a bundle nestled in its front legs. She is clearly fleeing from something that was right behind her. A large, dark, shape, one that looks like another River Spirit in dragon form, is following her.  
  
She surfaces in her human form and heads for the shore. She places the bundle, on the shore, in a reed bed. She frantically looks around, then dives back into the river, and changes into her dragon form. Just as the ripples, the ones that she had caused, are gone, a pair of humans are seen.  
  
The couple seemed to be headed for the river, but then at the last moment they turn. The young couple were laughing as they sat under a large tree nearby the reed bed. Suddenly they shoot up to a standing position and head for the reed bed. There they find the bundle, which is moving and crying like a baby. They slowly unwrap a squirming, heathly, and normal, baby girl.  
  
~~~~~~~  
  
"Look at her, Rei," Kyle Ogino breathed, "She's beautiful."  
  
"Who could have abandoned such a beautiful baby?" Rei Ogino asked softly.  
  
"I don't know," Kyle replied.  
  
"Look, there's something written on the back of this necklace," Kyle stated, showing her a necklace that was around the baby's neck, "It looks like it's in another language."  
  
"Let's take her to the Police Station," Rei suggested, "They'll find her mother and if she isn't wanted, then let's take her."  
  
"Oh, I don't know," Kyle replied, "What is she isn't claimed and then the mother shows up wanting her back?"  
  
"Then we won't be able to do anything about it," Rei stated as they headed for the car.  
  
They didn't look back, so they didn't see a pair of sad eyes watching them walk away.  
  
~~~~~~~~~  
  
No one came to claim the baby, so the couple adopted her. They named her Chihiro and for ten years they were a simple, nondescript family. Then one day they moved away to another place and that day something happened that changed their lives forever. They wandered through the gate to the Spirit Realm. When they returned to the human world, things between the three of them were forever changed. 


	2. Changes

Disclaimer: I do not own the movie "Spirited Away" or any of its characters. I also don't own the Disney Channel movie "The Thirteenth Year.", which this story is loosely based on.  
  
^All reviews welcomed, but kindly lay off any obscene, profain, or distasteful comments. Flames will be used to feed my pet dragon.^  
  
Chapter Two  
  
Fifteen years later...Five years after Chihiro and her parents returned from the Spirit Realm...  
  
"Chihiro! Breakfast!"  
  
A young woman of fifteen yawned as she got out of bed. She changed clothes quickly and then brushed her hair. She picked up a purple hair band that looked ordinary to anyone but her. This hair band was made up of threads that her friends from the Spirit Realm had woven together; it protected her.  
  
She put her hair, which now came to the small of her back, up in its customary pony tail and then headed downstairs. She stopped half-way down the staircase, as her sensitive ears picked up the end of a conversation-more like an arguement-between her parents. Her ears were just one of a few things that had changed since she turned fifteen.  
  
Besides the usual changes a female of fifteen went through, she had other things changing. Her ears were extra sensitive and instead of straining to overhear someone, she had to strain to not to overhear. Not only that, but she was on the Track Team and she had broken all the old track records. Also she won every race that she had run this year. Not once while she ran did she ever break into a sweat.  
  
Also she seemed to be addicted to water. Whenever she could, she drank vast quantities of it and went swimming whenever she could. She took baths so long that her mother had to shout her out of them, even when her bathwater had become ice cold. Also she seemed to have a new grace that her friends noticed, as she had been a total klutz before her fifteen birthday.  
  
~~~~~~~~~  
  
"I'm telling you, Rei," Kyle stated angrily, "Fifteen is not the right age to tell her!"  
  
"She has a right to know!" Rei shot back, "And I think fifteen's old enough to know something that important!"  
  
Just as Kyle opened his mouth to retort, Chihiro walked in. Chihiro ingored the fact that their eyes were following her trip around the kitchen for a glass of orange juice.  
  
"What?" Chihiro asked, with a bit of an attitude, over her orange juice.  
  
"How much did you hear?" Kyle asked her with a slightly cold tone.  
  
"Just the last two sentences," Chihiro replied, "Now, what this about me being old enough to know about something important?"  
  
"Chihiro, honey," Rei stated softly, "Would you please sit down?"  
  
"Your mother and I have something very important to tell you," Kyle added.  
  
"Okay," Chihiro stated flatly, as she sat down in the nearest chair, finished off her orange juice, and then studied them.  
  
Kyle looked directly at Chihiro.  
  
"Chihiro, we think your old enough to know this," he stated with no emotion, "Chihiro, honey, you're adopted."  
  
*Thunk!*  
  
Kyle and Rei looked down at the fainted form of their daughter.  
  
"Well," Kyle started calmly, "She took it better than I thought she would."  
  
Rei rushed to revive Chihiro, who quickly came-to with the aid of some smelling salts. Chihiro flew to a sitting position and then to her feet.  
  
"Did I hear you correctly?" Chihiro stated after getting back into her chair, "I'm adopted?"  
  
"Yes," Rei stated, "We found you by a river when you were just a baby. There was no one in sight and you seemed to be abandoned. The only clue to your past is the very necklace that you are wearing."  
  
Chihiro looked down at the necklace that her parents had given her for her thirteenth birthday. To a person far away, it looked like a single, gold, dogtag on a gold chain. On the front of the necklace was a dragon, very much like Haku's dragon form, flying over a raging river. On the back was a message written in a language that no one knew.  
  
"I was wearing this when you found me?" Chihiro repeated and then looked up, "Can we go to the River tomorrow morning?"  
  
Rei and Kyle exchanged looks.  
  
"I suppose so," Kyle replied, "But I don't think we'll find any clues, Chihiro. After all, it's been fifteen years since we found you."  
  
"I have a feeling that we'll find more than a clue there," Chihiro replied while running up the stairs.  
  
"What if we do find your parents and they don't want you back?" Kyle asked her, making Chihiro stop climbing the stairs.  
  
"I think they will," Chihiro replied and finished going up stairs.  
  
After she was gone from sight, Kyle looked over at Rei.  
  
"That's what I'm afraid of," Kyle stated softly. 


	3. Mother

Disclaimer: I do not own the movie "Spirited Away" or any of its characters. I also don't own the Disney Channel movie "The Thirteenth Year.", which this story is loosely based on. I also do not own the name "Ishakari River" as it is a real river in Japan.  
  
^All reviews welcomed, but kindly lay off any obscene, profain, or distasteful comments. Flames will be used to feed my pet dragon.^  
  
Chapter Three  
  
The next morning the three of them packed a few necessary items and then loaded in the car. After quite a bit of driving, they passed through the city where Chihiro had spent the first ten years of her life. They rented a small cabin out by the river they had found Chihiro fifteen years ago. They spent the rest of the day searching around the river with no luck.  
  
"We haven't had much luck around the river," Chihiro stated softly, "So let's try in town."  
  
They went into town and the first stop was the police station. The same man from fifteen years ago was the Sherriff.  
  
~~~~~~~~  
  
"Sure I remember that night," the Sherriff stated, leaned back in his chair and then put his feet up on his desk, "It was slow around here and then these two came carting you in here as a baby. Said they found you by the river, abandoned. You spent about a week in the local orphanage and when nobody came for you, they adopted you."  
  
"The local orphange?" Chihiro repeated.  
  
"Yeah, it's just down the street here."  
  
"Thank you," Chihiro replied and bowed before disappearing out the door.  
  
"Strange kid," the Sherriff stated to himself after the parents had also left the room.  
  
~~~~~~~~~  
  
(I'm sorry if this next scene is bad, but I've never been anywhere near an Orphanage so I'm competely winging it.)  
  
The orphange was run by a local church and a nun was the one to answer the door. They talked to her a moment before they were taken to the Priest in charge of the orphanage. Kyle explained about why they were there and the Priest seemed to recall something he'd been told about Chihiro's short time there at the Orphanage.  
  
"It seems that you did not like being around other people," he stated softly, as he leaned forward in his chair, "Whenever held by anyone, you threw a large fit and would not quiet until you were put back down. After that week, three nuns had to be transferred to somewhere more quiet."  
  
Chihiro blushed in shame as the Priest told them this.  
  
"I'm sorry sir," she stated softly, "Did anyone else enquire about me?"  
  
"As I recall, about the day after you were adopted, there was a young man by the name of Ryo. Said that he was part of your family, an uncle or something like that. He had heard about you being found at the river. He said that your family wanted you back, but he looked to be only twelve at the time so we couldn't give him any information about it."  
  
"Ryo..." Chihiro repeated, not remembering anyone with that name.  
  
"I'm sorry that I cannot be of more help," the Priest stated softly.  
  
"It's okay sir," Chihiro replied, as they headed for the door.  
  
~~~~~~~~~  
  
Sunset found Chihiro sitting out by the river with her knees drawn up to her chest. She had her chin resting on her knees and was looking out at the fairly sized river. It was large enough to be a traffic river, but small enough to not be a source of power and therefore it was practically untouched.  
  
"Hello," Chihiro called out to the river softly, "Are you there, Spirit of the Sakura River?"  
  
A small splash, like a fish jumping, caught her ears.  
  
"Are you answering me?"  
  
Another splash was the reply.  
  
"Can you help me?"  
  
Another splash and then a sort of silence that said 'Well, I'm listening.'.  
  
"Listen, the two humans that I'm with say that they found me out here as a baby fifteen years ago. I was wondering if you knew anything about what happened that day."  
  
Suddenly a great Serpentine head rose up out of the river. It was a beautiful light blue color and it's mane was a familiar blue-green. The dragon's eyes, which took on a sudden burst of emotion, were the exact same as Chihiro own brown ones.  
  
Chihiro could easily tell the differences between this Dragon and Haku's dragon form. It was due to the fact that not only was this Dragon bigger in size, but it was a female. The face was more delicate than Haku's and there seemed to be a sort of comforting effect croming from it similar to the feeling one got from their mother.  
  
The River Spirit seemed to not only be willing to help Chihiro, but to it seemed to know exactly what had happened. She looked directly at Chihiro before opening her mouth as if to speak. Instead she took on a scared look and suddenly disappeared back into the water with a splash. Chihiro was confused until she heard her dad calling for her to come inside for dinner.  
  
"I'll be back to talk, but I don't know when," Chihiro stated softly to the River Spirit.  
  
~~~~~~~~~  
  
That night, at dinner...  
  
"I think we are just wasting time, Chihiro," her father announced out of the blue, "We're not going to find anything our here, so tomorrow we're going to head for home."  
  
"But we can't leave!" Chihiro cried, dropping her fork.  
  
"I have to agree with your father, Chihiro," her mother replied.  
  
"No!" Chihiro yelled out.  
  
She scooted her chair back, ran from the table, and then out the door, slamming it in the process.  
  
Chihiro ran out to the bank where she had recently been sitting.  
  
"Please come back, I really need your help!" she cried out  
  
The figure appeared, this time not taking time to examen Chihiro before it made its move. It flew up out of the water, landed on the bank, and transformed into a woman. A woman that looked like an older version of Chihiro, except with dark blue hair. She was wearing an outfit exactly like Haku's, only it matched her hair.  
  
Chihiro looked at the River Spirit in shock.  
  
"Who are you?"  
  
"Hello, Ishakari," the woman greeted her softly, "It's been too long since I last saw you as a baby." 


	4. Short Talk

Disclaimer: I do not own the movie "Spirited Away" or any of its characters. I also don't own the Disney Channel movie "The Thirteenth Year.", which this story is loosely based on. I also do not own the name "Ishakari River" as it is a real river in Japan. I do not own the name Kenshin, as it is off the anime "Rurouni Kenshin".  
  
^All reviews welcomed, but kindly lay off any obscene, profain, or distasteful comments. Flames will be used to feed my pet dragon.^  
  
^A big thank you to everyone who reviewed. And thanks a bunch AMi(), I didn't remember Chihiro's parents names. Due to just being corrected by said reviewer, I have not gone back to the previous chapters and fixed the parents names yet, but I have corrected the names in this chapter.^  
  
^Here is the summary, which I just noticed was cut off: Five years after Spirit World, Chihiro finds out something that explains a few things. Her parents reveal the truth and she decides to trace the path of her past. But what she doesn't know is that some things are better left unknown. Action, adventure, Romance, and more. H/C always!  
  
*Mental speaking*  
  
"Speaking"  
  
'Thought'  
  
Chapter Four  
  
"Hello, Ishakari," the woman greeted her softly, "It's been too long since I last saw you as a baby."  
  
"You're my real mother?!" Chihiro repeated, shock strong in her voice.  
  
"Yes," she replied, "I'm the Spirit of the Sakura River. You are the Spirit of the Ishakari River."  
  
"I'm a River Spirit?!" Chihiro cried out, the shock now very strong in her voice, "When I went to the Spirit Realm, not only did I smell like a human, but I was one!"  
  
"It's because you were a human," Sakura replied, "Due to our unusual blood background you were a human until your fifteenth birthday. That's when you started to change into a River Spirit."  
  
"That's why I can feel a strong connection to water and wind!" Chihiro replied with a small cry.  
  
"We need to find a young River Spirit by the name of Kohaku River. He would be a big help with the training you will need. Also he is a part of the story I want to tell you. A story that will, hopefully, help you to understand why I had no choice in being seperated from you."  
  
"It's okay mom," Chihiro replied, "I understand that something was wrong, otherwise you wouldn't have left me."  
  
Sakura tried to not grin, but instead gave her daughter a smile.  
  
"I'm glad that you understand," Sakura stated softly, "And about Kohaku, I'm not sure if he is still alive or not."  
  
"I know Kohaku, but he's used to being called Haku," Chihiro replied softly, "He's alive and I know where to find him."  
  
"You do? You said you went to Spirit Realm, but never did I think that you would find Kohaku or is it the other way around?"  
  
"It was the other way around. Even though he was Yubaba's prisioner, he helped me out and he is my friend and I wish he was more than that," Chihiro stated softly, lightly blushing at her ending statement.  
  
"I've been away from the Spirit Realm for way too long."  
  
"It was a long five days there, but out here at least five weeks had passed," Chihiro stated softly.  
  
"I see," her mother replied just as softly, *So you spent almost a week in the Spirit Realm. How did you survive?"  
  
"Haku," Chihiro stated simply, "He told me to get a job at the Bathhouse and so I did. Yuuke and Akio, my human parents, ate the food of the Spirits and so they were turned into pigs."  
  
"Yubaba and her stupid hate of humans!" Sakura growled out angrily.  
  
"Haku was hurting," Chihiro stated softly, "I couldn't just stand by and watch him suffer."  
  
"What do you mean?"  
  
"Yubaba was controlling him. He had lost his real name along with his river-the humans filled it in and built over it. He stole Zeniba's gold seal and got badly injured. He was dying from a spell of Zeniba's, but I saved him. He got his real name back while I was here.  
  
"He helped free me from Yubaba's contract, which I had signed to stay human. I became Sen and worked in the bathhouse for five days or so, completely forgetting that my name was Chihiro. Haku helped me save my pigs-er, I mean-human parents."  
  
"Wow, sounds like quite the adventure. You have to tell me the full version when we are finally able to talk,* her mother replied, *Speaking of which, are you planning to return to the Spirit Realm soon?*  
  
"I'm going to try and return to the Spirit Realm very soon. Maybe tomorrow since it's saturday. Yuuke likes me out of the house then to clean. I usually spend all day outside so they won't miss me for long. I'll leave a note in the very first place they'll look so they won't worry."  
  
"Are you sure about this?"  
  
"Of course! I belong in Spirit Realm!"  
  
"Then I will see you tomorrow," her mother replied softly, "Maybe."  
  
"Yeah, maybe."  
  
"Mom?" Chihiro asked softly, breaking the silence that had fallen.  
  
"Yes, my daughter," Sakura replied softly.  
  
"Why can't you tell me the story now and just repeat it when we find Haku?"  
  
"We might be overheard."  
  
"Overheard? And by who?" Chihiro replied, confused.  
  
As if to answer her question a lone branch snapped and the two whirled around. Sakura's eyes narrowed in anger and threat as she saw a shadow was standing there, staring at the two from the forest. Sakura pushed Chihiro behind her in order to protect her while fighting.  
  
"Who are you?!" Sakura barked out, "Come out and show yourself, coward!"  
  
A figure stepped out of the shadows, blood covering his once light blue uniform, which was similar to Haku's uniform. Being stuck behind her mother, Chihiro couldn't see who it was, but felt familiar.  
  
'It feels like-' Chihiro thought, but then shook her head, 'But it can't be-There's no way!'  
  
"YOU!" her mother yelled, breaking Chihiro's thoughts, as she laid eyes on the form.  
  
"Yeah, me," a familiar, yet unfamiliar at the same time, male voice replied weakly, "I had to find-"  
  
The young man broke off, as he dropped to his knees, overcome with pain.  
  
"Had to find, Chihiro..."  
  
Sakura looked down at the passed out figure with a mixture of concern and contempt. Carefully she leaned down and picked up the unconscious form. Chihiro's eyes widened as she saw the unconscious Spirit.  
  
"Who is it?"  
  
Sakura slowly turned to her and smiled grimly.  
  
"This," she began, "Is another blood realitive of yours. In fact he is your, younger, twin brother, Kenshin."  
  
"Twin?!" Chihiro replied, shocked to say the least, "Brother!?"  
  
"Yes," Sakura stated softly, "He's been looking over you as a friend for a very long time. I wish I could tell you more, but its in the story."  
  
"It's okay Mom," Chihiro replied.  
  
Sakura suddenly looked up, then looked back down at Chihiro, and smiled.  
  
"You'd best be heading in," she stated softly, "He comes out at night."  
  
"Who?!" Chihiro cried over the wind, which had suddenly picked up to hurricane force.  
  
"Rekou!" was the last thing she heard as her mother and dear brother disappeared from sight.  
  
As Sakura left Chihiro alone, she had only given the young woman more questions than answers. Chihiro was now more determined than ever to return to the Spirit Realm and find the path that she should have walked on from birth and one that she hoped Haku also walked upon. 


	5. Returned

Disclaimer: I do not own the movie "Spirited Away" or any of its characters. I also don't own the Disney Channel movie "The Thirteenth Year.", which this story is loosely based on. I also do not own the name "Ishakari River" as it is a real river in Japan. I do not own the name Kenshin, as it is off the anime "Rurouni Kenshin".  
  
^All reviews welcomed, but kindly lay off any obscene, profain, or distasteful comments.^  
  
^Flames will be used to feed my pet dragon.^  
  
^Thank you for your reviews, they really brighten my days even the flames make the place warmer ;).^  
  
^To all Readers and those who reviewed, I have been informed of my mistake and corrected it. Therefore below should be the correct Chapter 5.^  
  
*Mental speaking*  
  
"Speaking"  
  
'Thought'  
  
Chapter Five  
  
The next morning the Ogino family packed up their stuff and headed for home. Both Akio and Yuuke noticed that Chihiro wasn't as unhappy about leaving as she had been last night. Neither thought anything about it, figuring that since it was early, Chihiro was just still half-asleep.  
  
Chihiro was still half asleep, in fact she slept all the way home and had to be carried upstairs to her room. She awoke about four hours later, at about noon. She quickly gathered everything she thought she would need in the Spirit Realm. She emptied out all her savings, which was around twenty dollars, and then wrote her note.  
  
She left the note on her bed and then sneakily lowered her bag down to the ground, outside, behind some bushes. She dressed in a regular summer outfit, then headed downstairs, and was out of the door. Yuuke never noticed as it was usual for Chihiro to go out of the house on a Saturday.  
  
Chihiro walked down road after road before she found herself standing at tree where all the small shrines were. She knew she was headed in the right direction when she passed the statue hidden a little bit back in the woods. It wasn't long after passing the statue that she found herself standing in front of the tunnel entrance to the Spirit Realm.   
  
Without a second thought, about the life she was about to leave behind, she plunged into the tunnel. She wanted to run, but something told her that it was unwise to run in this tunnel. So she waleked, but she made it to the other side of the tunnel as quickly as if she had run, but she hadn't. When Chihiro emerged from the tunnel and out into sun, she grinned.  
  
'I'm back! Oh how I've missed this place, all my friends, and Haku! I even miss Yubaba, which is hard to believe.'  
  
She saw that the sun was about to set and quickly ran across the grass field. Then sun set when she was about four steps from the stairs, so she had to wade to shore. The laterns lit and the town slowly started to come to life with Spirits. Chihiro recognized a few of the spirits and greeted them. The Spirits did not shun her for she was now one of them and was welcomed.  
  
A roar from overheard almost made her heart leap out of her chest. She looked up and saw a large, silver, form gliding toward the Bathhouse. Judging from the way he was acting, Haku was very angry at the moment. He was flying as if wounded, but he didn't seem to be bleeding.  
  
'Haku!' Chihiro cried out in her mind, trying to touch the River Spirit's mind with her own, but a wall of anger and pain blocked her out.   
  
"It's about time, Chihiro," a newly familiar voice stated from almost directly in front of her, "Oh and don't bother trying to get to him right now, he's too mad and too hurt to hear you."  
  
Chihiro's eyes dropped from the sky to Sakura.  
  
"Hey, mom."  
  
"Hey yourself," she replied, "I can only see you for a second before I got to meet with someone so I'll catch up with you. I know it seems mean that I'm running off on you, but this meeting is a matter of life or death for Kenshin."  
  
"It's okay," Chihiro replied, really worried about her newly found twin brother, "I was planning to go see Lin, Kamadjii, and all my other friends at the bathhouse anyways. Is that okay with you?"  
  
"Yes, but take this," Sakura stated and handed her a bag of gold.  
  
"What's this for?"  
  
"You know how Yubaba is with money," her mother replied, "It might come in handy while we are separated. You can tell your friends about finding your past, but tell no one your real name. He has ears all over the place."  
  
"Is He, Rekou?"  
  
"Later," she hissed and then disappeared into the crowd.  
  
~~~~~~~~~  
  
Chihiro wandered around, sampling foods here and there. This was the same food that she had been afraid to touch-much less eat-the first time she had arrived in the Spirit Realm. That had turned out to be one of her the best decisions. Her human parents had gorged themselves on the food of the Spirits, which turned them into pigs.  
  
Finally, after about a half an hour, she realized that she had no idea where she was, let alone which way the bath house was. She stepped up to a nearby Spirit, which just happened to be the Radish Spirit. It was standing there, just staring right at her, as if daring her to make a wrong move, but it was actually a friendly Spirit.  
  
"Excuse me?"  
  
The Radish Spirit looked down at her and nodded.  
  
"Do you know which way the Bathhouse is?"  
  
The Radish Spirit motioned her to follow it, which she did. It walked up the street a little ways and then pointed, futher up the road. Chihiro could just see the tip of the Bathhouse's roof.  
  
"Thank you," Chihiro stated and bowed to it.  
  
She then took off in the direction that the Radish Spirit had indicated. It didn't take her long at all to find the bridge, which was over run with numerous Spirits. She dodged through all of them and then slipped through the small door that Haku had pulled her through five years before. She calmly walked through the small garden and used the back gate.  
  
The gate opened up on the side of the Bathhouse to a drop-off of God-knows-how-far and a wooden staircase. She then started down the stairs, unafraid this time. Part of the ways down the first flight, she noticed that someone had repaired the staircase.  
  
Last time she had used it, she had broken quite a few stairs. One had broken on her so she had ended up running, totally out of control, down several flights. The only thing that stopped her from running off the edge of the staircase was smashing into a wall that was jutting out.  
  
She soon found herself at the door to the boiler room. Slowly she opened it and stepped inside. It was hotter than she remembered, but surprisingly it felt comfortable to her. Kamadjii was still there, mixing herbs for the water, drinking tea, and yelling at the Soots, which were pieces of soot magically brought to life.  
  
Just as she stepped up to say hello to him, a small door opened up and a familiar form stepped out. It was Lin, but she didn't seem to notice Chihiro at all, as she berated Kamadjii once more. As always it was for not leaving his bowl where she could get to it easily. Then she fed the Soots, who ate small, star-shaped, candies, still not noticing Chihiro.  
  
"Lin?"  
  
Lin jumped six feet into the air and whirled around, glaring daggers. Her hand was pressed against her chest, over her heart. The wooden pail, the one that Lin had been feeding the Soots out of, had been flung into the air in her fright. Chihiro watched the rest of the star-shaped candies spill out as the bucket arced in the air. Then she watched it as it landed, perfectly upside-down, ontop of Lin's head, hiding her face.  
  
"Who are you and what are you doing down here?" Lin asked gruffly, as she removed the bucket from her head.  
  
"Just visiting my Grandfather," Chihiro replied, "Is that a crime? Or am I still a little dope?"  
  
Recognition spread across Lin's face almost immediately.  
  
"Se-Chihiro!" she cried, grabbed Chihiro up in a bear hug, put her down, and turned to Kamadjii, "Look Kamadjii, it's Sen-I mean Chihiro!"  
  
"Good to see you again," Kamadjii stated and reached over to put one of his hands on her shoulder.  
  
"You've really changed," Lin stated out of the blue, as she gave Chihiro the once over, "If you hadn't said that, I would never had known it was you."  
  
"What do you mean?" Chihiro replied, confused, "I may not be the same person, but I haven't become that unrecognizable have I?"  
  
"Look for yourself," Lin commanded softly and held up a small hand mirror.  
  
Chihiro looked into the mirror and gasped in surprise. She hadn't realized it, but since her birthday she had changed a lot more than just what she thought she had. Without her knowledge, or the fact that her 'parents' had not told her, her looks had changed almost completely.  
  
Her hair had gone from dark brown to a lighter aburn brown with streaks of blond in it. Her eyes had changed from the familiar chocolate brown to a hazel color. She gasped out in surprise as her eyes flashed to a silver color and then back to the hazel.  
  
"Have you seen Haku yet?" Kamadjii asked her softly.  
  
"Not face to face," Chihiro replied, still in shock from what she had seen, "I saw him fly overhead. He looked happy and mad at the same time and was flying as if he was wounded, but there didn't seem to be any blood on him."  
  
"He's happy because someone reported seeing a survivor from one of the two River Kingdoms-possibly the missing princess. But he's angry because the report turned out to be nothing more than an attention seeking Spirit."  
  
"Princess?" Chihiro repeated, "What missing princess?"  
  
"I don't know the legend," Lin replied, "But I overheard Haku raging about it earlier today."  
  
"You seem different, besides looks, Chihiro," Kamadjii suddenly stated.  
  
"I am different," Chihiro replied softly, "I was adopted."  
  
"What does that have to do with you being different?" Lin asked, confused.  
  
Chihiro quickly launched into her story, telling them everything she had learned about herself with then exception of her real name.  
  
"So you're a River Spirit?" Lin asked her softly.  
  
"You bet," Chihiro replied, "But I don't know how to be one, so mother's going to ask Haku if he will teach me."  
  
*Speaking of which,* said an angry voice in her head, *I've found him. We're at the bridge.*  
  
"I have to go," Chihiro yelped, "Mother found Haku and she's not too happy with me."  
  
Chihiro quickly got back up the stairs, ran through the gate, and then through the small door. She stopped to catch her breath, right after that, and saw the two forms standing at the center of the bridge.  
  
"Mother!"  
  
The two forms turned toward her and her breath caught in her throat. 


	6. Miracle

Disclaimer: I do not own the movie "Spirited Away" or any of its characters. I also don't own the Disney Channel movie "The Thirteenth Year.", which this story is loosely based on. I also do not own the name "Ishakari River" as it is a real river in Japan.  
  
^All reviews welcomed, but kindly lay off any obscene, profain, or distasteful comments.^  
  
^Flames will be used to feed my pet dragon.^  
  
^There is maybe two or more curse words in this chapter. Would you say that's grounds for upping the rating?^  
  
^You may notice that Yubaba seems to give up too easily, but relax, her OOC actions are part of my plot.^  
  
^I made it long to make up for making my loyal reviewers wait so long. Oh my head, too much writing at once...@.@...^  
  
^WARNINGS: 1)SOME PARAGRAPHS IN CHAPTER MAY BE LAME. WRITER'S BLOCK WILL DO THAT TO YOUR PLOT. 2)HALF OF CHAPTER IS MAJOR FLUFF! SO FLUFFY, IT COULD FLOAT AWAY WITH THE SLIGHTEST BREEZE!  
  
~~~~~~~~~  
  
REPLIES TO REVIWERS  
  
Fire Kitsune Goddess: Thanks for pointing out my chapter error. When uploading I accidently clicked Chapter 4 instead of Chapter 5.  
  
ringwraith9(): Okay, to answer your question, after the first visit to the Spirit Realm, Chihiro hates the human world and Haku is still stuck in the Spirit Realm. Plus she's no longer human and therefore it is no longer safe for her to remain outside of the Spirit World. Not to mention this is a AU, but it follows the events that happened in the movie.  
  
Mika(): In looking back at my previous chapters I have come to notice that you are completely right that Chihiro seems to be taking being adopted really well. I am not adopted and I don't know anyone who was, so I am winging her reaction all the way, so I need help.  
  
In my story, she never really felt a close connection to her parents, especially after the Spirit Realm incindent. After Reading a book called "The Face on the Milk Carton" (don't own), Chihiro had felt like this story hit home with her in a couple of places. So she searched for any baby pictures of her and found that there was none of her when she was born. After that she had started to suspect something was wrong and therefore wasn't really shocked when she found out.  
  
But I really do want any help with Chihiro's reaction to being adopted. So if you, or any other reviwer, can help me, drop me a clue or a hint on how Chihiro should react and continue to act after hearing that she is adopted.  
  
Cristina: Thanks for the review. It means a lot that you like my fic and it happens to be the first Spirited Away fic you read.  
  
sweet-genie-16: Thanks for the review and the correction on Kamajii's name. Anyways, on to your question, some writers say that Lin is her name in the American version of Spirited Away, while it's Rin in the original, Japanese, version of Spirited Away. I just use Lin because that was the name I heard her called in Spirited Away.  
  
OoAnimedreamZoO: Thanks both for the review and the compliment.  
  
Maruken(): Thanks for both the review and the compliment.   
  
~~~~~~~~~  
  
*Mental speaking*  
  
"Speaking"  
  
'Thought'  
  
Chapter Six  
  
After watching Chihiro leave the Spirit Realm behind, Haku went to Yubaba for that talk. She had been so enraged by his request that he got a repeat performance of her freaking out like she had earlier that day-when she had finally realized her son, Boh, was missing.  
  
Though she had freaked out, Haku managed to get her to give him freedom. He had to practically twist Yubaba's arm off to get it, but he did. But knowing he was free from Yubaba did not ease the terrible ache in his heart. The ache caused by not having Chihiro there with him. Though he was free he still could not leave the Spirit Realm since he no longer had a connection to the Human World through his River.  
  
~~~~~~~~~  
  
'It's been five years...'  
  
Haku was leaning against the railing of the bridge, looking down at his reflection in the water below. He thought about the time that Chihiro spent there in the Spirit Realm. Then he thought of how for five years he'd been wishing that she would come back. Haku had fallen in love with Chihiro the moment he had laid eyes on her, but he was afraid to tell her.  
  
His thought was stopped abruptly when he sensed a River Spirit coming his way. He looked up and saw a female River Spirit, in her dragon, land on the bridge, which was totally deserted, save him. She transformed into her human form and slowly walked up to him.  
  
"Are you Kohaku?"  
  
"Around here it's Haku, but yes," Haku replied without turning around or even looking up.  
  
"I am Sakura," she stated softly, "I was wondering if you would train my daughter in the ways of being a River Spirit."  
  
"Can't you?" Haku replied, not caring about any girl other than Chihiro.  
  
"I cannot," Saku stated softly, "For if she was constantly around me, she would be in danger."  
  
"Oh," Haku replied, still toneless, "How so?"  
  
"She would be found by Rook."  
  
"Rook?" Haku replied, not looking up, "Who's Rook?"  
  
"A Dark Spirit," she replied, "One that is obsessed with spilling the blood of anyone tied to me, either by blood, marriage, or even friendship."  
  
"I see," was all Haku said, before finally looking up at her.  
  
His eyes went wide in shock as he looked at Sakura. She looked almost exactly like Chihiro, minus her hair, which was the same dark blue as his own. If Haku hadn't of know that Chihiro was a human, he would have sworn that the woman, the very one standing in front of him, was an older version of her, possibly even her mother. Suddenly Haku didn't feel very comfortable standing there.  
  
"So where is she?"  
  
"She was looking for you," Sakura replied, "But I called for her, so she should be here any minute."  
  
"What's your daughter's name?"  
  
"Well, she has three that I know of."  
  
"Three?"  
  
"First off her name is Ishakari, but everyone knows her as-"  
  
"Mother!" a familiar voice, slightly changed, yelled, interrupting Sakura.  
  
Haku's eyes went wide in shock once more as he recognized the voice.  
  
'Could it be?! Is she really here?!'  
  
Haku slowly turned around and almost stopped breathing. His heart fell when he saw, not Chihiro, but a beautiful young woman, who instantly caught his eye. Quickly, Haku mentally slapped himself for thinking of another young woman, in that way, when he had Chihiro.  
  
"Well," Sakura stated, sounding stern, but the smile on her lips said she wasn't serious, "Aren't you going to say hello to Haku? After all, it's been five years since you've seen him, am I right, Chihiro?"  
  
Haku's eyes widened in surprise, as he gazed at the older Chihiro. She was even more beautiful than Haku had ever imagined her to have ever become. In fact she was so beautiful that Haku thought her to be a dream.  
  
"Chihiro?!"  
  
"Haku!"  
  
Without a second more, the ran toward each other. Haku stopped half-way across the bridge and stood there with open arms, which Chihiro ran into. As Haku closed his arms around her, he finally knew that she wasn't a dream. He was holding the real Chihiro in his arms. Chihiro leaned her head against Haku's chest, wanting to hear his heartbeat.  
  
They were reunited once more and nothing would break them apart. Haku felt incredible, he felt-well-he didn't know what he felt. But suddenly, something in the back of his mind snapped. The river he had held back all these years came rushing forward.  
  
Chihiro felt something gently strike the top of her head. It had felt like a raindrop, but there was no clouds. She was surprised when she looked up and saw that Haku was crying. She had never seen him cry before and it tore at her heart. As she gazed into his sea-green eyes, she realized that the tears made his eyes sparkle. They sparkled in such a way that his eyes looked like a river when the sun's rays hit it just right at sunset.  
  
~~~~~~~~  
  
Unknown to Haku and Chihiro, or virtually anyone in the Spirit Realm, in the human world there was a sudden earthquake and it seemed that the very ground would give way. The humans had just finished demolishing the aparment buildings-the ones that had been built over what was once Kohaku River-which were now old, run-down, apartments.  
  
The ground, which had never truly been stable, actually did give way. What ever was left of the demolished buildings was swallowed up by a raging river, which had run, constricted, under the ground for numerous years. People gawked at the river, which seemed to be only big enough for light traffic.  
  
This occurance seemed to be a sort of miracle that made believers out of a few people and returned somes' belief. Some of the elderly people believed the ground giving way was the work of the Spirit of this hidden river. They believed that the Spirit had come back to reclaim its river.  
  
Also they believed that the Spirit didn't like being stuck underground and so ripped the ground apart. The town officals believed the elderly people and so the River was offically renamed the Kohaku River. The humans renamed the river though it had always been the Kohaku River on or off of paper.  
  
~~~~~~~~~  
  
Back in the Spirit Realm, Chihiro was suddenly surprised to see Haku glowing golden. It continued for a little while before he took a deep breath and opened his eyes. His eyes, oh they were a deeper, richer, green than they had been a few seconds before. Also Haku looked stronger than he had ever been.  
  
"Thanks to you not only did I get my name back, but I got my river back," Haku whispered into her ear, his hot breath on her skin made Chihiro shiver, "I am now at my full power."  
  
"Chihiro, it's a prophesized miracle," Sakura breathed out, "Son of the Protectors of the Wind Kingdom and the Water Kingdom, it has been too long."  
  
"What are you talking about, Sakura?" Haku asked, confused, as he let go of Chihiro and stood next to her.  
  
"Mother..." Chihiro started to say, but trailed off.  
  
It finally dawned on Haku what Chihiro had been calling Sakura. Chihiro called Sakura mother, so she was Sakura's daughter, which meant...  
  
"Chihiro, you're a River Spirit and you never told me?!"  
  
"Don't blame her, Haku," Sakura commanded him softly, "She just became one when she turned fifteen-"  
  
Sakura suddenly stopped and her eyes darted around.  
  
"We're being watched."  
  
"Yubaba?" Haku asked softly.  
  
"Rekou," Sakura replied.  
  
Haku didn't really know who Rekou was, besides that he wanted Sakura and anyone-damn-that meant that Chihiro was in danger!  
  
"Damn," Haku hissed for no apparent reason.  
  
Chihiro looked at him in surprise, as she had never heard Haku curse before. Suddenly she felt someone grab her.  
  
"HHHAAAKKKUUUU!!!" she cried out, her voice echoing as she was taken away.  
  
"CCCCCCHHHHHHIIIIIIIHHHHHHIIIIIIIRRRRROOOOOO!!!!!!!!"  
  
~~~~~~~~~  
  
Minutes before...  
  
Up in her office, Yubaba suddenly dropped the gold nugget that she was examining. She felt four presences that she knew meant trouble. One was Haku, the other two she didn't know, which meant trouble with a capital T, but the last one sent shivers up her spine. It was Rekou, a Blood Spirit, known assassin, and warrior for hire.  
  
He was known for never have once missed a target. Once he was paid to go after you, you never got away, at least alive. His price was an outragous sum and all of it in gold. He used any dirty trick or method if it meant getting the job done faster. Yubaba had heard stories about Rekou that made a full blood Demon sound like an Angel.  
  
"Who could have-" Yubaba started, muttering to herself, "Who in their right mind would have hired-"  
  
"CCCCCCHHHHHHIIIIIIIHHHHHHIIIIIIIRRRRROOOOOO!!!!!!!!"  
  
Haku's tormented scream cut her off in mid-sentence.  
  
"Not again!" Yubaba yelled, as Boh, her five-year-old son, woke up and began to trash his room.  
  
She ran to the curtains that separated her office from his room, and stuck her head through them.  
  
"Calm down! Momma's coming!"  
  
She pulled her head back out of the curtains.  
  
"That girl is going to pay for all the misery she put me through," Yubaba said under her breath, "I'll tear her soul apart, starting by disposing of the one that holds her heart-my ex-apprentance Haku."  
  
Yubaba began to cackle, as all the evil thoughts of what she would do to crush Chihiro's spirit danced through her head.  
  
"Oh I don't think I will ever have had so much fun!" she stated maliciously and grinned, "That girl will wish that she had never found the Spirit Realm in the first place!"  
  
Just then Boh heard her and began wailing twice as loudly as he had been before. He knew exactly who she was talking about and didn't want one of his very few friends hurt. Plus he wanted all of his momma's attention to be on him and not on others. 


	7. Abducted

Disclaimer: I do not own the movie "Spirited Away" or any of its characters. I also don't own the Disney Channel movie "The Thirteenth Year.", which this story is loosely based on. I also do not own the name "Ishakari River" as it is a real river in Japan.  
  
^All reviews welcomed, but kindly lay off any obscene, profain, or distasteful comments.^  
  
^Flames will be used to feed my pet dragon.^  
  
*Mental speaking*  
  
"Speaking"  
  
'Thought'  
  
Chapter Seven  
  
Just like that she was gone. He had turned his back for one second and she paid the price for his mistake. Haku had fallen to his knees as that scream had torn from his throat. Agonizing pain was shooting through his entire body and every breath felt like someone was ripping his lungs out.  
  
His eyes were burning almost like someone had doused them with alcohol and then set them on fire. His eyes were burning so badly that they were watering-no-wait a minute. He no longer could deny, nor hide, his feelings. His eyes weren't watering, no, he was crying like a baby.  
  
Chihiro was his life, his love, his support, and now she was gone. Suddenly a shadow was there, blocking out the sun. Haku slowly looked up into the person's face. At first he thought it was Sakura, but he realized, with a start, that the face belonged to Lin.  
  
'Oh no,' Haku thought, which was the first coherenant thought he had had in the past five minutes, 'Lin is seeing me crying like a baby.'  
  
Immediately he tried to stop crying, as Lin stared at him. He looked up and almost blushed when he saw that nearly the entire Bathhouse, staff and guests, were staring at him. All of them had heard his raw-throated scream and had come to see what had caused it.  
  
"Haku, get up this instant and stop waisting time by crying!" Lin ordered.  
  
Haku shot to his feet and noticed that Sakura was staring at the place where Haku had last seen the dark Spirit carrying Chihiro off.  
  
"Sakura?"  
  
Sakura tore her eyes away when she heard her name.  
  
"What do you want?" she replied with no emotion.  
  
"What were you talking about me being the 'son of the Protect-"  
  
Haku was cut off as Sakura slapped a hand over his mouth. She glared at him and then jerked her head at their audiance.  
  
"Not here," she hissed.  
  
Haku nodded and Sakura removed her hand.  
  
"Where then?"  
  
"The one place that I know we can talk and not be overheard, Zeniba's house in Swamp Bottom," Sakura stated in a low voice, "Do you know where Zeniba's house is?"  
  
"Yes," Haku replied, "I've been there a couple times."  
  
"I'm coming with you," Lin stated, breaking into their conversation, "I want to know what's going on and I want to help Sen."  
  
Sakura looked into her eyes for a brief moment before nodding.  
  
"Very well," she replied and then turned to Haku, "I trust you don't like passengers?"  
  
"Only if they're not Chihiro," Haku mumbled, earning a smirk from Lin and a sad smile from Sakura.  
  
Without another word, Sakura transformed into her dragon form. Haku stared for a second before he transformed into his dragon form. He impatiently waited until Lin was seated on Sakura's back. Wordlessly, the two River Spirits rose into the sky and were gone.  
  
~~~~~~~~~  
  
At Zeniba's house...  
  
Zeniba wasn't expecting company, but her windows rattled even more fiercely than they had during Haku's last visit.  
  
'Two River Spirits?' she thought to herself, confused.  
  
"No Face!" she called out softly.  
  
The shapeless Spirit came at the call of its name.  
  
"Uh, uh?"  
  
"Could you open the door for our guests?"  
  
"Uh, uh," it replied, went to the door, and opened it.  
  
Standing outside were two River Spirits in their dragon form and a young woman that Zeniba didn't recognize, but knew that she was not Chihiro. Haku transformed into his human form with ease and waited until the other had transformed before he stood.  
  
As the second form appeared, Zeniba's jaw nearly hit the ground. The Spirit standing before her was the last Spirit Zeniba thought she would ever see at her simple cottage. Zeniba opened her mouth to greet her, but she put up a hand, cutting Zeniba off.  
  
"Not out here, Zeniba," she stated softly, "We need to talk and his spies could be anywhere out here."  
  
Zeniba ushered them into the house before closing the door. No Face had not only had three chairs pulled out, but it also had three cups of tea waiting for them. The four of them sat down almost as one and Zeniba looked expectantly at Sakura. Lin looked at Haku for an explination, but he stared into his cup of tea.  
  
"So what brings you all the way out here?" Zeniba asked Sakura softly.  
  
"Rook," was all Sakura said in reply, spittng the name out like it was a bad taste in her mouth.  
  
Zeniba hissed as if the name alone had caused her pain. There was an intense silence after that hiss.  
  
"I found her," Sakura suddenly stated simply, breaking the silence, "After fifteen years of heartache, she came back to me. The girl you know as Sen and Chihiro is my Ishakari."  
  
Zeniba's eyes widened in shock.  
  
"Are you sure?" she asked excitedly.  
  
"She had the necklace," Sakura replied and took a sip of tea, "By the way, I thought you were all-seeing, all-knowing."  
  
"I am only when it directly involves my sister," Zeniba stated and then changed the subject back to the shocking news, "Did Chihiro know any of what was written on the back?"  
  
"No," Sakura replied sadly and sat her teacup down, "I doubt Rekou would have gotten her if she had known about the message."  
  
"Hello!" Lin yelled angrily, "We're here too, you know!"  
  
Zeniba and Sakura both turned to her with looks of contempt on their faces.  
  
"Sakura," Haku stated heistantly, "What were you talking about when you called me the 'Son of the Protectors of the Wind Kingdom and the Water Kingdom.'? It sounded slightly familiar, but not very much."  
  
Sakura sighed and shot a look at Zeniba, who only blinked at her owlishly over her cup of tea.  
  
"This is going to be a long night..." Sakura muttered and opened her mouth to start telling a very long story, only to be interrupted by a strong gust of wind, which rattled the window almost hard enough to take the shutters right off of their hinges.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
AN: sorry to leave you hanging, but I'm working on the story behind the story so it's gonna take a little while. PLUS: I PO'd my pa, who reins over my surfing privs and he's not too happy. He thinks I'm purposely flunking my freshman college year. 


	8. The Story

Disclaimer: I do not own the movie 'Spirited Away' or any of its characters. I also don't own the Disney Channel movie 'The Thirteenth Year', which this story is loosely based on. I also do not own the name 'Ishakari River' as it is a real river in Japan. I also do not own the 'Ronin Warriors', from which the guys are inspired from. I do not own the name Kenshin, as I got that off of 'Rurouni Kenshin', which I don't own.  
  
^All reviews welcomed, but kindly lay off any obscene, profain, or distasteful comments.^  
  
^Flames will be used to feed my pet dragon.^  
  
^There may be one to two or more curse words in this chapter. Would you say that's grounds for upping the rating?^  
  
^To make up for making my loyal reviewers wait so long, I made it as long as I could before hitting a writer's block. Oh my head, too much writing at once...@.@...^  
  
~~~~~~~~~  
  
Replies to Reviewers...  
  
Erinamation-limited2-nothing: Thanks for the smiling review.  
  
Green Eyes Silver Dragon: Thanks for the review.  
  
Anora: How is it hard to follow?! Anyways, thanks for the review.  
  
Fire Kitsune Goddess: I'm working on updating faster.  
  
tomoyo-chan(): I'm working as fast as I can.  
  
Yana5: Thanks for the review. As I just said to tomoyo-chan(), I'm working as fast as I can. PS-thank's for the e-mail.  
  
digitude: Thanks for the review and the compliment. Oh, and I plan on it.  
  
shaw(): I didn't know my story was so liked. Oh, sorry about taking so long to get this chapter up-Family Emergency.  
  
^Star Trek's Scotty (in the background): "She can't take much more, Captain! She's gonna explode!"^ (don't own quote)  
  
~~~~~~~~~~  
  
^I wrote this chapter of the story once before and didn't like it, so I tore it apart and rewrote it. If anything doesn't make sense-say I call Haku a Prince or something else weird like that-please, please, please tell me in a review or e-mail. I don't want to screw up this story-if it ain't already screwed up that is.^  
  
~~~~~~~~~  
  
*Mental speaking*  
  
"Speaking"  
  
'Thought'  
  
Chapter Eight  
  
The Story  
  
"This is going to be a long night..." Sakura muttered and opened her mouth to start telling a very long story, only to be interrupted by a strong gust of wind, which rattled the window almost hard enough to take the shutters right off of their hinges.  
  
Sakura stared at the window angrily, as if it had rudely interrupted her. Haku and Lin's mouths nearly hit the floor, as a River Spirit, a Fire Spirit, and a Wind Spirit came waltzing into Zeneba's house as if they owned it.  
  
The Fire Spirit was decked out in a bright red outfit similar to Haku's Bathhouse uniform. The Fire Spirit had raven black hair, which spiked up like a fire would burn and dazzling blue eyes. He was laughing along with the other two Spirits.  
  
The River Spirit was decked out in a light blue outfit similar to the Fire Spirit's. His hair was short, aburn brown, and his eyes were blue. The Wind Spirit wore an outfit of green, which matched his eyes, and his hair was a spiky, light blond.  
  
Haku felt that he knew these three and they seemed to look oddly familiar, but his memory of any time before the Bathhouse was still shrouded in mystery. All that he knew about himself either circulated around the Bathhouse or it was something Chihiro had helped him remember.  
  
Chihiro-that name was like a dagger in his heart. Haku bitterly remembered the helplessness he had felt when she had been taken away from him. He vowed that he would find Rekou and make him pay for taking Chihiro away from him. Rekou would know the meaning of pain if he had touched her or caused her pain in any other way.  
  
'If he has moved even one single hair out of place on her head, I'll-' Haku stopped himself, shook his head to clear his thoughts, and suddenly remembered that he wasn't alone in the room.  
  
"RYO, SAGE, and CYE!" Sakura yelled angrily, finally over her shock, as she shot up from her seat.  
  
The three Spirits suddenly went white as sheets. The one in the bright red turned out to be Ryo, the one in light blue was Cye, and the one in green was Sage. All three looked like they had just signed their death warrents and were now in front of the firing squad.  
  
"Sakura!" Ryo yelped, fearful of the female River Spirit, "We didn't know that you were here!"  
  
"Then why did you come here?" Sakura asked them harshly.  
  
"Sage felt a presence here that seemed to be similiar to Crystal and he wanted to see who it was," Cye explained softly.  
  
"I don't think that it takes the Prince of the Water Kingdom, the King of the Fire Kingdom, and the Prince of the Wind Kingdom to investigate something like that!"  
  
Sage's head suddenly snapped toward Haku. He stared at Haku for a minute or so before he attacked. Haku didn't now what hit him, one minute he was sitting in his chair and the next he was suddenly being held by the collar of his shirt, pressed up against a wall.  
  
"Who are you?!" Sage asked him savagely.  
  
"SAGE!" Sakura yelled angrily, "That's no way to treat a Protector!"  
  
Sage let go, making Haku fall to the floor.  
  
"Protector?" Sage replied, repeating Sakura.  
  
"Let me tell these two a story and maybe you'll understand," Sakura stated, "Now if there will be no more interruptions I can start."  
  
She shot a look over at the three, who were too busy being shocked to notice her look. She turned to Haku and then sat back down in her chair.  
  
"Haku, your father was the Protector of the Royal family of the Wind Kingdom. Your mother was the Protecter of the Royal family of the Water Kingdom. At the time, there was a total of eight Kingdoms in our realm. The Wind Kingdom, the Water Kingdom, the Ice Kingdom, the Fire Kingdom, the Forest Kingdom, the Stratos Kingdom, the Earth Kingdom, and the Dark Kingdom.  
  
"There was an agreement between the eight Kingdoms that all children of Royal lineage would be engaged at birth. Also, it was agreed that it was forbidden for a royal child to fall in love with someone other than their fiancé or fiancée. Thought not engaged to her, the heir Prince of the Wind Kingdom fell in love with the Princess of the Water Kingdom-Sakura-yes I am that Sakura-and she fell in love with the Prince-Roc.  
  
"The Water Kingdom's King-my father-forbade me from seeing Roc, to talk to him, and to be even in the same room at the same time as him. Then he punished me by confining me to within the castle, under constant watch, but even that did not stop us. When the King found out that we were still somehow seeing each other, he was furious and ordered that our helper be found and executed on the spot. What he did not know was that it was Cye helping me see my love.  
  
"To prevent me from further disobeying him, father informed my entended-the Prince of the Dark Kingdom-Rook-about the goings on behind his back. But because of this, there was a terrible battle. A battle between the angry Princes of the seven good Kingdoms and Rook. The princes all knew that Rook was deadly when it came to women."  
  
Here all three male Spirits nodded, while Lin just stared in shock. All three had dark looks on their faces and looked ready to kill someone.  
  
"Ryo was finally able to convince the King-Shoten-to break off my engagement with Rook. There was a terrible battle between the eight kingdoms which came to a draw with heavy casulties. So the eight kingdoms split apart into fours, one was the Water-Wind-Fire Kingdom, the Stratos-Earth Kingdom, the Forest-Ice Kingdom, and the Dark Kingdom.  
  
"Then one day, Rook-now grown and King of the Dark Kingdom-found out that the Queen of the Water-Wind Kingdom, the very Princess that he had let slip through his fingers, was heavy with child. So for my remaining four months he schemed. All of which were ways to make me pay for not marrying him. So after Ishakari and Kenshin were born, Rook made his move.  
  
"When I saw Rook trying to kill my children, I fled with them, only to be seperated from my baby girl. For fifteen years I searched for my child with no luck. I was about to give up hope, when, out of the blue, a human child walked up to my river, where I was hiding, and spoke to me. This girl was adopted and wanted to know if I had seen her real mother on the night that she had been found.  
  
"It was that very night that she found out part of the truth. She wasn't human at all, she was a River Spirit that had been raised as a human. On her fifteenth birthday she began to change. Once she found out who she was, she found her way here and that's all I can tell you."  
  
Haku sucked in a breath in shock and then gasped in surprise. The realization was like a slap in the face-Chihiro was a Princess! AN UNTOUCHABLE ROYAL PRINCESS! She was definitely out of his league.  
  
"And now Chihiro's gone," Haku whispered softly.  
  
"Who?" Sage replied, confused.  
  
"Chihiro," Sakura stated softly, "Ishakari is her real name, Chihiro is her human name, and Sen is the name she had when she worked in the Bathhouse. Rekou has gotten her and has probably taken her to Rook."  
  
"Are you telling me that-" Sage stopped, growled in anger, and grabbed up Haku by his shirt collar, lifting him clean off the ground once more, "Even though you are a Protector of the Wind-Water Kingdom, you let Rekou kidnap my niece, Princess Ishakari?!"  
  
With that said, Sage tossed Haku into another wall, which was clear across the one room house, making him thud against it painfully. Cye and Ryo both winced, as Haku learned, the hard way, that Prince Sage was very protective of his family, especially of his long lost niece. 


	9. Meet Rook

Disclaimer: I do not own the movie "Spirited Away" or any of its characters. I don't own the Disney Channel movie "The Thirteenth Year.", which this story is loosely based on. I also do not own the name "Ishakari River" as it is a real river in Japan. I don't own the "Ronin Warriors" or any of its characters. I don't own the "Sea of Rakash" as it is off of "He-Man", which I don't own. 

All reviews welcomed, but kindly lay off any obscene, profane, or distasteful comments.

Flames will be used to feed my pet dragon/muse.

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Replies to Reviewers:

blazingsunstar: Thanks for the review

Yana5: Thanks for the review. Oh, and the next chapter...now...

nekohebi: Thanks for the review and don't worry about Haku, he's only a little dazed thanks to his powers softening the impact.

digitude: Thanks for reviewing. Sorry you got confused, it was hard to keep everything straight and it even got me confused, that's why I had the note about it not making sense and telling me if it didn't.

Fire Kitsune Goddess: As I said to nekohebi, Haku's fine. He's just a little dazed from both the story and the throw. Thanks for the review

Erinamation-limited2-nothing: Thanks for the review and yes, I updated.

grrr: I'm working on it and this isn't the last chapter. I have big plans for this story.

Sydni Nelson a.k.a. Angel: Thanks for both of the long reviews. Okay about your two suggestions... First of all, it's gonna be a while before Haku and Rekou meet, let alone fight over Chihiro... Second, the closest thing that Haku and Sage have to really fighting it out will be training sessions. As I just said to grrr, I have big plans for this story. Oh and do keep on suggesting things, I can get writer's block easily.

kichpu: thanks for the review. I'm glad you liked that part of my story. I was a little afraid that it would sound stupid.

MidnightDragonShadow: thanks for the review. I wrote that chapter out on my computer, didn't like it, and rewrote it.

baka-onna2003: Thanks for the review. No, Cye is not the overprotective uncle-Sage is.

Reiko5: I used the American names for the Ronin Warriors because I am American and that's the way I saw the series. Also, I easily get the Japanese names mixed up. The only two I can keep straight are Seiji and Ryo and you can easily guess why.

LadyRainStarDragon: Thanks for the review. I checked out Chapter 6 and it seemed fine.

Dark Angel - The Doom: Thanks for the review. Hope you landed on something soft when you fell over. You seem to be in shock...is my story that bad?

Dagorwen of Ithilien: Thanks for the review. I update whenever I can.

endlessness( ) : Thanks for the review. I'm happy you like my story. Yes, there will be more chapters.

Fantasywriter13: I know it's been...forever...but I got a writer's block like you wouldn't believe! Oh, and thanks for the review.

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Mental speaking  
"Speaking"  
'Thought'

Chapter Nine

Chihiro was aware that her head was throbbing as she slowly came back to consciousness. She looked around the bedroom-unfamiliar as it were-wondering just where she was. The room was unfriendily as it could be; there were no doors, but there was a window way up by the ceiling and it had bars on it. The decor was blood red and pitch black-if it wasn't one color, it was the other-and there was a tapestry on the far end that showed black and red dragon fighting a familiar white and blue-green dragon.

"Where am I?"

"You are in my kingdom and, more specifically, in my castle."

Chihiro head swivled towards the source of the unexpected voice. Suddenly everything came flooding back to her, her true identity, her real mother, her twin brother, meeting Haku, getting kidnapped...getting kidnapped? She gasped when she saw who it was standing there. If evil had a form, he absolutely would have fit the bill.

The man standing before her had spikey, pitch black, hair and blood red eyes. He was wearing a black and red version of Haku's Bathhouse Work clothes. He smirked at Chihiro and when he smirked, fangs appeared at the corner of his mouth. He watched her like a hungry animal watches its prey's every move before pouncing.

"I am Rook," he started coldly, "And you are my prisoner."

"Prisoner!" Chihiro repeated with a growl, "No matter how long or how easily you think you can keep me here, I will escape!"

"Escape?" Rook replied with a chilling smirk, "Escape?"

It started with a low chuckle, but before Chihiro could catch onto what it was that was so funny, Rook was cackling evilly.

"No one escapes from me!"

He transformed into a pitch black dragon with a blood red mane and stood there, staring down at Chihiro with a smug look.

"Why are you doing this!" Chihiro asked out, secretly glad that the fear she felt inside did not reach her voice.

"Revenge!"

With another evil cackle, Rook transformed back and disappeared from the escapeless room with a POP, leaving Chihiro alone once again.

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"Chihiro," Sakura stated softly, "Ishakari is her real name, Chihiro is her human name, and Sen is the name she had when she worked in the Bathhouse. Rekou has gotten her and has probably taken her to Rook."

"Are you telling me that-" Sage stopped, growled in anger, and grabbed up Haku by his shirt collar, lifting him clean off the ground once more, "Even though you are a Protector of the Wind-Water Kingdom, you let Rekou kidnap my niece, Princess Ishakari!"

With that said, Sage tossed Haku into another wall, which was clear across the house, making him thud against it painfully. Cye and Ryo both winced, as Haku learned, the hard way, that Prince Sage was very protective of his family, especially of his long lost niece.

"Sage!" Sakura yelled, "He is an untrained Protector!"

"Untrained!" Sage replied and turned toward Sakura, "If he's untrained, then what has he been doing for all these years!"

"Surviving from day to day!" Sakura snapped back angrily, "One has to do that when they are alone, have amnesia, and homeless. Plus Yubaba scooped him up the moment he walked into her bathhouse, dazed, asking if anyone knew where he was or what he was! He knew only that his name was Kohaku River and nothing more! Yubaba grabbed him up and filled his head with lies!

"She told him that he was there to become her apprentice. She told him he had no family or friends and that he worked for her for free! She knew exactly who she had in her grasp and she wanted to extort that knowledge! She got Haku to sign the contract-with blood-by promising to help him get his memories back! The second she got him to sign the contract, he forgot his own name, and along with it, the memory of Yubaba's promise!"

"For all these years he's been alone! He's had no one to train him! He doesn't know any of the arts the Protectors used! Haku has been virtually, emotionally, separated from everyone else, for all these years! He didn't even know that he was the son of two Protectors-let alone one himself-until today!" Sakura yelled out in Haku's defense.

"What?" Ryo stated, disbelief written across his face, "That's impossible! I'm sure Crystal or Caine would have told and trained him in the ways of being a protector or at least shielded him from Yubaba's trickery!"

"What part of 'no one' don't you understand, Ryo!" Sakura yelled angrily, "He has no family left! NO ONE, GOT IT!"

"No one?" Ryo repeated, "No one at all?"

"None!" Sakura replied, still angry, "Crystal died from wounds given to her, by one of Rook's henchmen, while defending the Kingdom! Caine was killed as he tried to get to her! Don't you remember!"

At hearing the question, Ryo's suppressed memories-memories of seeing the slaughtered bodies of two of his best friends-broke loose. In his mind's eye, the two of them just lying there, facing each other, arms reached out, and hands intertwined-loving each other even in death. Seeing this grisly scene, once more, made Ryo lose the coloring in his face and nearly get sick on the floor.

Haku was so numbed, half from the pain he was in and half because of hearing how his parents had died, that he barely noticed a lone tear race down his own cheek. He was alone once more, metaphorically speaking, but still, he had no family left alive...or did he? Haku stopped his inner dialogue and raised his head up to look at Sakura.

"No one?" he asked, repeating her, "No grandparents? No aunts or uncles? No sisters, brothers, or cousins? Was my whole living family just made up of three single spirits?"

"No," Sakura replied softly, "Your entire family is dead."

"How?" Haku asked her, shocked.

"Well, you see"

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/Flashback of Major Proportions.../

A six-year-old boy, with bright green eyes and blonde hair, stared out across the sea of Rakash. He stared out at the sea with eyes filled with anger and resentment.

"Oh, Prince Sage!" he squealed in a fake, falsetto, voice, "You're so handsome, so brave, so smart!"

"Ugh," he groaned in his normal voice, "What a sick joke."

"I don't find it funny," a new voice replied, "That you make fun of the Prince when someone important could have overheard you."

He whipped around and sighed in relief when he saw that it was only Crystal.

"Never scare me like that Crystal!" he snapped out, "Especially not tonight of all nights!"

"What's so special about tonight?"

"It's the night that my entire family died!"

Crystal's face drained of color at this. "Your entire family died in one night?"

"Yeah," Caine replied with a sigh, "When I was five, there was a revolt-over what I don't remember-and my family were all slaughtered... I managed to survive because my mother hid me somewhere no one would look. When I came out of the hiding spot I saw the carnage that lay before me. My mother was decaptited, my father was quartered, my two sisters were raped and torn asunder, and my grandparents were hung."

"Oh, Caine, I had no idea," Crystal stated softly.

"No one does!" Caine snarled out, "No one does..."

Caine looked up at the stars.

"I want my family back..."

"I know I can never bring them back nor will I try to replace them," Crystal began, "But I can try and help you deal with the pain."

Caine never took his eyes off the stars. "Thanks."

Neither one noticed that Sakura had overheard the entire thing and that someone was Sakura.

/End of Flashback/

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Haku stared at Sakura in what could best be described as a madrid of emotions.

"The last time there was any mention of a revolt anywhere in one of the Kingdoms was a long time ago," Cye spoke out, "So when the peasants got tired of the King's rule and slaughtered the Protector and his entire family, save for his son, it was Caine's family?"

"Yes," Sakura replied softly.

Silence filled Zeniba's small cabin like a thick fog.

"So, does anyone have a plan?"

"A plan?" Ryo repeated, confused, "For what?"

"To rescue Ishakari!" Sakura raged out, "What else, genius?"

No one had an idea, not even Zeniba, so the five put their heads together to come up with something and fast...


End file.
